Friday 30 March 2018

Angus Country Parks - short tour

The grim weather isn't helping just now but I've fitted in a few short visits to easily accessible places where if it rains (again) I can protect my camera.



Male Cormorant taken through the brush on the lochside at Forfar Loch



Many Dunnocks singing from leafless bushes at Forfar and elsewhere just now


Even the Woodpigeons use the viewing platform but even this one couldn't see anything other than a single Great Crested Grebe and a few Mallards and yet if the sun comes (it didn't) things would burst into action


Under the feeder near the Yacht Club



At Monikie even the ducks use the feeders



10 minutes at Keptie Pond before another shower was unusually productive, probably as it was so cold nobody was about to spook the wildlife


This hybrid/domestic/? which I've blogged before looks to have paired with a drake Mallard and will no doubt produce some Heinz offspring


Blackbirds are getting very approachable as spring progresses, it is spring isn't it


Not the first frog spawn I've seen, some appeared in my pond a few days ago. This usually sees an onslaught on the frogs by the Goosanders at Keptie Pond, fortunately only two remained on Friday



Only three Purple Sandpipers left at Inchcape on Thursday



This Iceland Gull is becoming more bold and I swear it was following me about at Victoria Park on Thursday. Eventually I broke up some of a sandwich I had left as a reward for its behaviour, hence the many photos





I had been looking along the beach when the Iceland flew past me but I didn't expect it would land only 7 metres away then stay for some photos





This is a resize of the full frame photo, if I gone any closer it wouldn't fit in. I'd guess I was only 5 metres away


It's reward and as it's so unwary it got the lot to itself





Wednesday 28 March 2018

Migration and breeding - we're off!

A right old mixture of species and places they were seen. The return of an old friend, the bringer of doom for some in my garden and overall the breeding season and migration have started.


The newly returned local Osprey waiting to be fed no doubt


The reason I don't have to fill up my feeders. This Sparrowhawk has even taken to roosting in a bush in the garden. Unsuccessful hunt today when this was taken


This Blackbird appears to have or be considering a nest very near to the bush the Sparrowhawk uses, it won't go well...


Curlews fly over my house each day, some continue to St Vigeans and Condor but this one and a few others were in the field on the edge of Arbroath, probably no more than 50 metres from where I live


A bit dull at the Lurgies today when these Red-breasted Mergansers flew upstream as the tide receded


I counted these Redshanks on my PC and there are 418 and 1 Dunnock which are the largest flock I've seen recently at Montrose Basin, and many didn't fit the frame to the right


These two drake Mallards chased the duck and each other around the Lurgies before one became dominant and left with the duck


This Lesser Black-backed Gull and another seem to be the only two at Monikie. I'd gone looking for Little Gulls and perhaps Sand Martins but I'll have to go back again as neither has arrived yet


We were too early when starting a journey today so a quick drive past Victoria Park to use up some time confirmed the Iceland Gull and the Pale-bellied Brent Goose were both still around

Monday 26 March 2018

Just some Fulmars and a Pig

I found eleven Puffins sitting offshore at Auchmithie on Monday but too far out and I deleted the record photos by mistake. Just a couple of Fulmar photos below and I'd gone to Powmyre last week to see if the Glaucous Gull Gus saw at Kinnordy was there, it might have been!

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose was still at Victoria Park today, as was the Iceland Gull

Pale-bellied Brent Goose, click here for HD video


Fulmar, Auchmithie


Another Fulmar


No Glaucous Gull to be found at Powmyre but it could have been there out of sight so have a lovely pig instead

Sunday 25 March 2018

The reluctant gardener.....

I have a "wildlife garden", it's my excuse for almost never tending to it but even I have to trim back the wilderness from time to time. Today was one of these days but there was always something else to distract me and a camera nearby. At the end of the day, more like a couple of hours, a thought came into my head that I'd never seen Long-tailed Tits at all in the garden and weirdly tonight just before dusk a pair turned up! Must try that tomorrow with something rare. Yesterday we had another uncommon visitor, I think only twice before, a Magpie turned up.


Sparrowhawk, the first bird that flew past as I had a coffee break. I then had to wait ages for the song birds to return


First butterfly this year, a Red Admiral


The ever present Tree Sparrow, around 14 still visiting daily


Two males and two females are disputing the garden and feers


Just the one pair of Blue Tits


Male Chaffinch lit up by the sun


My grandad fed a Herring Gull daily, sometimes it would take fish scraps from his hand. I'm not continuing the tradition


Friday 23 March 2018

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - a welcome find

Photos from the last few days in anything from poor light, dusk and today just about perfect. You'll easily spot which photos were taken on which days.


Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Victoria Park, Arbroath, a surprise find when I was looking for Ringed Plover and Turnstones





I couldn't see the Iceland Gull so waved a white hanky around as if emptying a bag of bread and along it came with the Herring Gulls just long enough for a couple of photos





Kestrel at West Seaton on the way home





Fulmar at Auchmithie on a sunless afternoon, poor light and cold



Great Black-backed Gull


Red-throated Diver, Auchmithie




Rock Pipit


Shag



Male of a pair of Stonechats


Whooper Swans in a field near Inverkeilor, moving north?


Only 5 metres from a Sparrowhawk I flushed from bushes in my garden. I didn't know it was there and neither did the Tree Sparrow, I disturbed it when checking the pond for frog spawn after seeing some elsewhere


Wednesday 21 March 2018

Olive's "Grand Day Out" - surprise, surprise I took her birding!

Olive's "Grand Day Out", so I had to find some of the "interesting" species which usually means colourful and cute (much like myself). I'm not convinced that I fulfilled the brief but did manage a variety of some of our rarer and less often seen species.

The first site which I haven't named, but most will know or guess is a public place and all birds were photographed from the public path without ever approaching the birds which is always illegal and can interfere with nesting at this time and in the coming months.


Peregrine, miles up on a cliff at a NNR where they're not a secret



Raven chasing off a Buzzard along the clifftop


Raven


First Stock Dove I've seen at this site for some time. I hope this gives an idea of the distance and height between me and the bird. This is around a quarter crop of the original


Female Stonechat which looked very pale even to the eye in the bright sun


One of five Buzzards



Water Rail at the Bank of Scotland Hide, Montrose Basin SWT Centre


Little Egret also BOS Hide and getting less wary or maybe just more hungry as it came closer today than I've seen when people were about


Female Kingfisher but no sign of the male for some time now



Another day end bird from Keptie Pond in Arbroath. Only one pair of these Goosanders remain, the female was out of shot and in the shade


Grey Heron, Keptie Pond


I counted 49 Herring Gulls and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and felt the need to enlighten the "duck feeders" that by feeding bread it encourages the gulls to congregate and remain to then predate the ducklings, moorhen and coot chicks. There is signage about this issue at the pond and the local pet shops sell a seed mix as an alternative which sinks and is only reached by the ducks it's intended for. Another duck food is lettuce so once you peeled off the outer leaves drop them off at your local pond. Note as I had tell two small boys last year at Keptie, terrapins don't eat new potatoes but might like some of the raw mince before the "tatties and mince" is cooked!


Moorhen, an often overlooked bird, worth a closer look just for the beak colours


Crocuses at Keptie Pond


The "Back o'the Heids" at Arbroath Harbour mouth on day two of the latest storm when the waves had diminished a bit from day one



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